"Guatemala must pass the legislation under the convention soon," said Harty.

More than 4,000 Guatemalan babies were adopted by American parents last year, making the Central American nation the second highest source of U.S. adoptions after China.

Under current laws, willing parents can adopt Guatemalan babies by paying thousands of dollars to notaries who act as baby brokers, recruiting birth mothers, handling all the paperwork and completing the job in less than half the time it takes elsewhere.

The Hague Convention requires that a government agency regulate adoptions, especially to make sure the babies have not been bought or stolen.